Collapsible stand



Patented 'l ec. 16, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE STAND Roy L. Stover, Wichita, Kans., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Kay-Win Products Company, Wichita, Kans., a corporation of Kansas Application July 19, 1946, Serial N0. 687,343

my co-pehding application Serial No.

629j 60l' entitled Collapsible Stands and filed NovemberlQ, 1945, there is disclosed a tubular central support which has three legs hinged to one end thereof and has a slotted head secured to the other end thereof. That collapsible stand has proved to be of great value and has received wide commercial acceptance. With that stand the legs can all be rotated until they are substantially coaxial with the central support of the standfi and then the ends of the legs, which are bentrel'ative to the axes of the legs, can be made to enter slots formed in the upper end of the central support. Thereafter a spring-biased sleeve which is slidably secured to thecentral supportcan be moved down over the outer edges of the free ends of the legs to hold those legs in assembled relation with the centralsupport. The supporting arms of that stand are provided with transversely-extending pins 'or transversely-projecting cars at the ends thereof; and thes'e arms re threaded through the slotted head member Isuch'a mannerv that they can be telescoped to thtubular central support or'can be drawn 'ou wardly of that support until the transverselyextending 'pins or ears strike and are held by the slottedhe'ad member. Thereafter the arms can be rotated into, and held in, a horizontal position and-in that postion the arms can be used to support articles that are to be suspended from the collapsible stand. While that stand is extremely useful and has'met wide acceptance, Ihave devised improvements therefor that additionally increase its utility and value. For example I have found'that by changing the configuration of the spring-biased collar on the central support I can eliminate the necesssity of having the free ends of the legs angularly disposed relative to the axes of the legs. Accordingly I can use legs that are of generally straight configuration. By using legs of generally straight confl g uration I n'ot'only decrcasethe cost ofthe legs 1 Claim. (Cl. 211-172) but I avoid the presence of open slots in the wall of the central support, which slots were formerly believed necessary to permit the maintenance of the legs in substantially coaxial relation with the central support. In this way I,

not only decrease the cost of manufacture of the collapsible stand of my co-pending application, but I also improve the appearance and strength of the stand by eliminating the open slots that were previously formed in the upper wall of the central support of that stand.

In addition I have discovered that it is possible to mount the slotted head of the collapsible stand of my co-pending application so that it.

can rotate relative to the central support of the collapsible stand without becoming separated from that support. The rotation of the head relative to the central support permitsthe horizontally-disposed arms to b rotated to any desired,

position without moving the legsof the stand. This permits the user to set the stand in a corner of a room and add articles to eachv of the outstretched arms merely by rotating the slotted head of the stand; and it also permits the user to set the stand by the ironing board and unload or load each of .the arms of the stand without moving the legs of the stand.

Furthermore I have found it possible to provide a disc of resilient material that can be secured to the slotted head at the approximate center of that head, and to dimension that centrally-disposed disc of resilient material so that it bears against the ends of each and every one of the arms of the stand. Such a disc providesa sufficiently large frictional force between the arms of the stand and the stand itselfto retain the arms telescoped within the central support even though the stand is inverted. Thus I keep the arms from dropping outwardly from the cen:

tral support, under the influence of gravity, when the standis inverted. It is not intended to; infer that the arms of the stand of my co -pending application would fall completely outof the central support because they would not, since the ends of those arms have transversely extendingpins secured thereto that prevent removal of thearms from the slotted head. However the aImSIQQlIld when the stand was inverted, telescopeout of the central support until the transversely extending pins carried thereby struck, and were held by, the

slotted head. Thisis prevented in the present invention and makes my; collapsible standeven more desirable." It istherefore an objectiof the I present invention tofprovide a collapsible stand thathasgenerally straight legs hinged adjacent one end of the central support and also has a flared collar that cooperates with the ends of the legs to maintain those legs in substantially coaxial relation with the central support when the stand is collapsed for shipment, storing or carry- It is a. further object of the present invention to provide. a slotted head for the collapsible stand which is permanently secured to, but is rotatable relative to, the central support of a collapsible stand.

It is a still further object of the invention to.

provide a centrally disposed resilient disc that is carried by the slotted head of-a collapsible stand. and bears against the telescoping arms of sa d.

the present invention as, that stand appears in the collapsed position, and

Figure. 2 is a. perspective view of the stand of the present invention as that stand appears in the extended position.

Referring to thedrawing in detail, the numeral l0. de'note's.. the central support of a collapsible stand made in accordance with the principles and teachings of my invention. Formed in one end of the central support ID .are slots l2 and recesses l4 that areseparated by body portions iii of the central support it]. The slots l2 receive the ends of legsflfi; while the recesses. lirnake it easy to pass rivets'2ilthrough openings ln the body portions 18. of the central support Ill. By forming openings in the ends of legs I6, by inserting rivets 20 throughthoseopenmgsas well as'the openings inthebodyportions l8, and-then by setting the'rivetsf20, itis poss ble o hold the lg'sldin assembledrelationwith the central support [0, while permitting pivoting of the-legs lli' 'about the rivets 20..

' The legs I6 have short portions at their pivoted ends that are angularly. disposed relative t the, ak'esof the legs, but the .remaininglengths of the l gsar'e straight. Accordingly the legs It, may b' 'said'to be of generally straight configuration. Thel egs 16 are so 'hing'edto the central support lo that' they canbe rotated into position coaxially witlithe'central support. H] of the standas in Figflf'and they canalso berotated: m the extended position, shown. in Fig.2. In .the positi oifshown in Fig. 2, the inner faces of the angularly disposed'endsof the legs I ,will bearagamst the bottoms of thelslots. 12 while the router faces of these ends will be held bythe flaredzend of the collar 22.- Thus theilegs I6 willbefixedly a ainst further rotation. he fiared} collar 22 is normally pressed downwardly'by the helical spring 24 and its flared end, can, asindicated in Fig; 1-, telescope over the ends of the legs 16 and serve to hold thelegs IS in position while the stand is being shipped, stored or carried. Thefcolla'r can also be moved downwardly to assume the position shown .in. Fig. 2.

In that position gravitational and frictional forces hold the collar in position. The collar is provided with rib-portions 23 that are adapted to engage the outer surfaces of the upper ends of the legs 16 and hold the collar 22 against rotation.

Mounted on the upper end of the central support I ll of the collapsible stand, isa grooved head 26. This head has a number of peripherally spaced slots 28 that project radially outward from the solid center of the head 26 and normally receive the arms 30 of the collapsible stand. The arms 30 of the collapsible stand are provided with transversely extending projections 3|, that may be made by striking the edge of the arms with a forming tool, and that will not pass through the slots 28 of the head member 25. Accordingly when the stand is once assembled, the arms 30 cannot be removed or separated from the stand. In addition the arms are provided with notches that bear against the. upper end of the cavity 32 and limit the rotation of the arms 30.

The head 26 has a generally cylindrical cavity 32 which has an inner diameter slightly larger than. the outer diameter of the central support l0, and this cavity permits the head member 25 to telescope over the upper end-of the central support it. Formed in the inner surface of the cavity 32 is a recess of annular form. Projecting from the wall of thecentral-support [0 are two lugs 36 thatproject outwardly and downwardly from the upper end of the support I0. By making the central support I!) of relatively flexible metal and by punching or otherwise forming thelugs 36 from the wall of the central support I B, I make-it possible for the head member 25 to bend the lugs 36 as the member 26 telescopes over the upper end of thesupport Ill. The lugs 38 will be pressed flush with the rest of the sleeveas the .member 26 is moved, but thereafter they will spring back into the position shown in Fig.3; and in that position they fit into the recess 34 andprevent the disengagement of head member 26 from the central support. The lugs 36 are spaced from the upper end of the support ID a distancesufiicient to prevent bending between theupper end of support") and the innerend of cavity 32.

Centrally disposed ofthe-rotatable head member 26, andv secured thereto bya screw 38, is a resilient disc 40. This disc, which is preferably made of rubber ora resilientplastic material and s preferably made with a circular configuration, is held in position by the screw 38 and it is so dimensioned that its periphery bears against the edges of .the arms 30 whenever those arms are re-- tracted. within the supportlfl. Since thedisc is of resilientmaterial it does not prevent the user of the stand from moving or rotating the arms 30relative tothe central support Ill or the head 26 .but it does prevent accidental movement ofarms30.

The operation of the present invention is as follows. The collapsible stand, which can be placedin the compact positionshown-in Fig. 1, can-be carried in a suitcase, traveling case or any suitable container which will protectit from the elements and from rough handling. Whenever desired, the stand may be. removed from its traveling case or other container, the collar 22 can be forced-upwardly toward the head 26 againstthe pressure of the helical spring 24. This upward movement of the collar-22 permits the-legs l 6 to be rotated away fromtheir position coaxial with the central support l0, and to be rotated into the position shown in Fig. 2. At this time the collar 22 can be moved longitudinally of the stand until its flared portion telescopes over and confines the upper ends of the legs I6. When in this position, the collar 22 00- operates with the slots l2 of the support ill to prevent further rotative movement of the legs [6 relative to the central support 16, thus permitting the stand to be set upright.

Thereafter each of the arms 30, or as many as are needed, are raised vertically upward so that they telescope outwardly from the central support ll) of the stand, and then each of the arms 30 is rotated into the horizontal position shown in Fig. 2. Thereupon the rotatable head member 26 of the stand can be rotated relative to the central support I0 to bring each of the arms 36 adjacent the person placing materials on the arms of the stand. For example, if the stand is placed in a corner of a room, the rotatable head 26 can be used to permit loading of each arm and the rotation of the loaded arm away from the person doing the loading. Similarly the stand can be placed adjacent the ironing board and loaded or unloaded without moving the stand from its position on the floor.

The resilient disc 40 is so dimensioned that it bears against the edges of the arms 30 when those arms are telescoped within the support [0. By bearing against the edges of the outwardly projecting arms 30, the resilient disc 40 provides such a frictional force between the arms 30 and the head 26 and support 10 of the stand that although the stand is inverted the arms will not slide out or otherwise telescope outwardly from the support I 0. This makes the stand more readily handled by inexperienced persons and yet it does not in any way make it difiicult for the user to extend the arms 30 outwardly from the central support 19. In addition, it prevents any shifting of the arms 30 relative to the head 26 or the support l0 and thus keeps the arms 30 from making noise. For these reasons, the present invention is even more desirable than the invention that is quite useful and has met wide acceptance and is disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 629,601.

Whereas the drawings and accompanying de-' scription have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the form or shape of the present invention without affecting the scope thereof.

What I claim is:

In a collapsible stand that comprises a central support, legs, a head member, and arms, the improvement which comprises a rotatable head member with a cylindrical recess in the under side thereof that can receive and telescope downwardly over the upper end of said central support, grooves and slots in said head member to receive said arms, a stop that is at the center of said head member and extends downwardly into said recess and is coextensive with the upper portions of said grooves, said arms having notches on the upper surfaces of' the inner ends thereof which engage and are held against radially-directed inward movement by said stop whenever said arms are in extended position, said arms having motion-limiting surfaces thereon which are spaced from said notches a distance less than one half the width of said central support, said motion-limiting surfaces being larger than said grooves to prevent radially-directed outward movement of said arms from said head member, and a resilient disc that is secured to said stop above the grooves and overlies just the inner portions of said slots and bears against the inner edges of the upper ends of the arms only when the arms are in housed position within the central support, said disc being compressible by the arms within the slots to clear said slots but being engageable with the upper ends of said arms to resist accidental movement of said arms relative to said slots and thus force the lower ends of said arms away from said central support.

ROY L. STOVER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 1

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 26,496 Hickok Dec. 20, 1859 227,152 Crocker May 4, 1880 335,774 Richardson Feb. 9, 1886 340,195 Curtis Apr. 20, 1886 617,611 Strickland Jan. 10, 1899 637,622 Krick Nov. 21, 1899 742,581 Burtch Oct. 27, 1903 857,714 Bougher June 25, 1907 983,589 Wendt Feb. 7, 1911 1,383,994 Olson July 5, 1921 1,506,043 Bishop Aug. 26, 1924 1,525,701 Rose et al Feb. 10, 1925 1,590,637 Marengo June 29, 1926 1,783,488 Young Dec. 2, 1930 1,783,558 Brown Dec. 2, 1930 1,893,098 Michaud Jan. 3, 1933 1,921,026 Garman Aug. 8, 1933 2,003,135 Bowman May 28, 1935 2,016,313 Brown Oct. 8, 1935 2,128,892 Barry et al Sept. 6, 1938 2,213,737 Kolstad Sept. 3, 1940 2,303,978 Biberman Dec. 1, 1942 2,325,478 Collin July 27, 1943 2,429,305 Barnes Oct. 21, 1947 

